Nathan Parsons will replace 50 Shades Of Grey actor Luke Grimes as the vampire James

True Blood Season 7 welcomes new face Nathan Parsons to replace 50 Shades Of Grey actor Luke Grimes. He will play the vampire James who shacked up with Deborah Ann Woll’s beautiful bloodsucker Jessica. The pair met in the vampire concentration camp in True BloodSeason 6.

A spokesperson for HBO explained that the role of James was being recast “due to the creative direction of the character,” but TVLine reported that Grimes asked to be released from his contract:

“He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [his Forever co-star] Deborah Ann Woll,” said a source. “But when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James.”

Luke Grimes as vampire James in True Blood Season 6

TVLine also says the character will find himself “at the centre of a surprising love triangle in Season 7.” It’s unlikely that the third point in the triangle will be a new face, as former True Blood cast member Robert Kazinsky (Warlow) says the show’s writers are going back to Season 1 formula:

“Warlow was always meant to be a device to set us up for the final season and we had to lose a whole bunch of characters, they cut half the cast this season,” he tells SciFiNow. “They were trying to get back to what the first season was about in time for Season 7, which is a small group of people all fighting under one roof against a threat. It was when the show was at its best.”